Spring 2023

Self and Society: An Introduction to Sociology

Listed in: Anthropology and Sociology, as SOCI-112

Faculty

Ron Lembo (Section 01)

Description

The course introduces students to what C. Wright Mills referred to as the “sociological imagination.” Through accounts both classic and contemporary, students will learn to interrogate in a systematic way both their own lives and the lives of those around them, understanding how they are shaped in significant ways by groups, communities, institutions, and social structures, even as they remain authors of their own actions and determiners of their own fate. In this sense, the dynamics of what sociologists call “power” and “agency” are woven into every aspect of the course. Inequalities—most notably, race, class, and gender—will figure importantly as we explore important topics such as higher education, gendered expectations of parenting, mass incarceration and structural racism, cultural transformations accompanying neoliberal capitalism, and present-day opportunities for social mobility.

Limited to 18 students. Fall and Spring semesters. In Fall, 10 spaces are reserved for first-year students. Professor Lembo.

How to handle overenrollment: This is designed as an introduction to the major. Priority to Sociology majors, then first year and sophomore students

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Written work, readings, and group work.

SOCI 112 - LEC

Section 01
Tu 10:00 AM - 11:20 AM FAYE 217
Th 10:00 AM - 11:20 AM FAYE 217

This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
A Peculiar Indifference: The Neglected Toll of Violence on Black America Metropolitan Books Currie, Elliott Amherst Books TBD
Redoing ender: How Non-Binary Gender Contributes Toward Social Change Springer Publishing Darwin, Helana Amherst Books TBD
Stigma: Note on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Springer Publishing Goffman, Irving Amherst Books TBD
The Diversity Bargain and Other Dilemmas of Race, Admissions, and Meritocracy at Elite Universities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Warikoo, Natasha K TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

Other years: Offered in Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Fall 2024